This year The Jill Todd Trust, with the help of the RSUA, PLACE, the Friends of the Cancer Centre and Garage Door Systems including over 60 architects' practices from every county in Northern Ireland raised £7,200 - every penny of which goes via the Friends of the Cancer Centre towards assisting in research, carried-out locally, to find a cure for cancer.A big thanks also to our: 1. Sponsors-in-kind: @Sort Design / @The Tomorrow Lab and @Lanyon Communications @ SelfBuild + Improve your home / for their invaluable professional contribution.2. Donors whose input enabled all money raised to be transferred to the Centre for Cancer Research at QUB at Belfast City Hospital:@Garage Door Systems'@Keylite roof windows@Keystone lintels@Secured by Design

The 3rd 'ask an architect' event takes place from the 13th to the 20th May. ​In advance of those dates 120 consultations have been booked by the participating public bringing in some £4,800.​Such is the demand for meetings with participating architects the 'aaa' team are considering extending the close-date to the 27th May

The Jill Todd Trust in Partnership with the Royal Society of Ulster Architects; PLACE [The architecture centre] and Friends if the Cancer Centre are organising this year's 'ask an architect' event which will take place from the 13th - 19th May. 'ask an architect' is an annual event where you can avail of 1 hour's advice from an architect of your choice for a minimum donation of £40 all of which goes to assisting local research into a cure for cancer. Come along to the SelfBuild exhibition and the Titanic Exhibition Centre, Titanic Quarter,17 Queen's Road, Belfast BT3 9DU from the 17th - 19th February, seek-out the 'ask an architect' stand and find out more about this worthy event.

Activity at PLACE on the 16th

Architect Alistair Macnab giving a consultation regarding a house extension.

Ask an Architect got off to a very good start for a first time event.​Participating architects, which numbered c. 80 -90 throughout all 6 counties responded almost immediately to an invitation to register issued by the RSUA.Whilst public response was slow at the start, [which wasn't helped by the BBC pulling pre-recorded interviews and cancelling broadcast representations at the last moment because of its recently imposed embargo on publicising charities] the numbers of bookings trebled in the week leading up to the Event dates of the 16th + 17th Aoril Much was learnt by the organising Team [The RSUA, PLACE, and The Jill Todd Trust] by experiences such as this. We fully intend on building on this what we now know over the next year to the ultimate benefit of not only the 2017 Ask An Architect event and participating architects and public but the Centre for Cancer Research at Belfast.City Hospital.I will publish the funds raised within the next few weeks.​In the meantime a big thank you to all participants - public and architects alike.Thank you also to sponsors: Garage Door Systems and The Friends of the Cancer Centre for their help and guidance.

Bookings for "ask an architect" have rocketed over the last week and will close at 12 noon on Friday 15th April.All is not lost however.There will be 4 architects on stand-by in P.L.A.C..E. The Built Environment Centre, 7-9 Lower Garfield Street, Belfast BT1 1FP [right opposite the Castle Court Shopping Centre] ready to provide you with the advice you require. Just call in on spec.. between 10am and 4pm on Saturday 16th and 12 noon and 4pm on Sunday 16th. We all will be very pleased to see you and discuss your projects over a cup of coffee.​www.placeni.org

The pace is building up for Ask An Architect. Already almost 70 architectural practices in all 6 counties of Northern Ireland including Derry and Belfast City have signed-up to volunteer to provide consultations to members of the public thinking of building projects of all sorts and sizes. Booking opened on the 1st March and already booking slots are filling up. Since it’s a first come first served system book now with an architect of your choice who could be close to where you live.Remember a one-hour consultation only costs a minimum of £40 which will be channelled to the Centre for Cancer Research at Belfast City Hospital via their affiliated charity The Friends of the Cancer Centre. Three of the architectural practices who have volunteered won RIBA awards and were commended by Kevin McCloud on a special Grand Designs programme.